Practical Radicals

Meyerson was fascinated by the enduring ambivalence of Sutton and those like her. "How do you hold on to what it means to be an African-American woman, and at the same time fit into a predominantly white-male context?" Meyerson asks. "Not just fit in, but also succeed? These are people who want simultaneously to rock the boat and stay inside it. They want to stay inside because they are invested, to a greater or lesser extent, in the system."

Meyerson believes that such ambivalence, when managed in the right way, can strengthen leaders. Whereas compromise seeks a flavorless middle ground, ambivalence "involves pure expression of both sides of a dualism." Individuals, she and Scully wrote in a 1995 paper, "can remain ambivalent and [yet be] quite clear about their attachments and identities." They can operate as "outsiders within," granted access to opportunities for changing organizations, but remaining detached enough to recognize what needs changing.

The Power of "Small Wins"

Meyerson began to broaden her research. Her notion of tempered radicalism was born of a feminist orientation and of observations of how women operated in male- dominated organizations. The theory neatly explained how many women effect change. She learned, though, that the characterization resonates with other marginalized groups too -- with racial minorities, with gays and lesbians, and even with some white men.

These new everyday leaders come in all stripes. Roger Saillant, 57, is a white man who grew up in a string of foster homes. Since the rules changed with every new home, he says, he learned that "the only rules that matter are the ones that are right for you." So when he arrived as a chemist at Ford Motor Co. 30 years ago, he recalls, "I couldn't accept blindly the things that I was told."

Saillant went after his own agenda, which was rooted in his passion for the environment and his sympathy for the disadvantaged. Now, as VP and general manager of a division within Visteon Corp. (which spun off from Ford in June), a leading supplier of integrated automotive-technology systems, Saillant has acquired the credibility necessary to put his ideals into place. He is trying to expose his top executives to principles of environmental sustainability. For example, he's having people figure out how much material Visteon dumps into landfills each year. He hopes to forge associations with small companies that will help make Visteon greener.

"I don't think the system trusts me," Saillant says. "But my people love it." Indeed, says Micky Moulder, a Visteon manager who worked with Saillant in the late 1980s, "I came away from that time a much better person, a better leader. And I know that I influenced others. If you ask, How has Roger changed Visteon?, it's hard to say, exactly. But his footprints are everywhere. You can feel the change."

Meyerson grew captivated by the tensions faced by tempered radicals like Saillant -- and also by the differences between what drove the ambivalence of white men like him and what motivated women and people of color. To learn more, she studied upwards of 100 leaders and change agents in two large business organizations.

What she found: First, there is no one template for tempered radicals. Such leaders exist along a continuum. Their degree of radicalism depends partly on their perceptions of their own organizational credibility, or on their sense of financial security. Almost always, though, their degree of temperedness is tied to a deeper motivation. Highly tempered radicals, Meyerson argues, "are driven by a real impulse for personal authenticity. They say, 'I just want to save my soul. I don't want to sell out.' Many of them deny being radicals, even tempered ones." Typically, their personal goals are aligned closely with those of their employer; they may be more invested than others in the company's success. "But they're still nudging at the system -- and I say that those little nudges make a difference."

And it truly was nudging that Meyerson observed in her subjects. "These people aren't challenging the whole system," she says. "People have benefited from the system, and there's power in remaining inside it. So they just want to move it a little bit."

One man in her study, for example, refused to let work overwhelm his commitment to his family. He wanted to contribute to his company, and he wanted the company to succeed. But he also wanted to coach his kids' soccer teams -- and that meant leaving the office before any of his colleagues. He made clear, as well, his desire not to be bothered by work calls between 6 PM and 8 PM, his treasured family time. "So people stopped calling then," Meyerson says. "And gradually, it became an organizational norm that no one wanted to be disturbed during those hours at home. This man was very much driven by his desire to maintain his values -- but he unwittingly paved the way for this small company to change its practices."